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Thursday, 1 May 2014

Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats 'Mind Control' 2013.

The term 'Heavy', when used to describe music means different things to different people. To some, it might be the twisted riffs and blast beats of the latest death metal release. To others, it may be the slow, droning riffs of a doom band. Me? I fall into the latter category. I have always thought slow is heavier. I don't know why (perhaps it's down to my early years drowning in Tony Iommi's riffs) but to me, a riff has more time to breath if it's played slow, and if it's played to a crushingly slow drum beat, it's all the more heavier to me.

Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats are a band that fuse Doom Metal together with Psychedelia, and create an unsettling but ultimately heavy as hell sound, and their release 'Mind Control' is possibly their greatest musical adventure yet. Each song is a journey through darkness, horror and sweet but sinister vocals which comfort and disturb in equal measure, while guitars belt out some of the best doom-laden riffs I have heard in a long time.

While the music is dark, heavy and suffocating, there is light in the songs in the form of the vocals. Not since Ghost has something that sounds so comforting has also been enough to disturb the listener in equal measures. More than just being your typical retro laced doom act, Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats take the style that much further, injecting insanely catchy riffs which sound like they have been filtered through Iommi and Jimmy Page while the vocals are a mix of John Lennon and Alice Cooper. That is no joke. Just take a listen and you will see for yourself.

The loose concept of the album, about a cult that hangs out in the desert, Bikers and quests for enlightenment instantly brings to mind the Manson Family, as does the title. There are also references to the murders the family committed, which only serve to add an even darker aura to the already pitch black music.

Obviously, this type of music isn't for everyone. It invokes paranoia, fear and discomfort as well as taking the listener on a journey which is purely horrific but strangely enticing at the same time. If you like taking a chance on something different, something that manages to mix many different styles of music but continues to be a heavy, dark and disturbing band, check out Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats. I can guarantee you won't be disappointed. As the closing track informs the listener, they are doing the Devil's work, and there aren't many out there that do it so well.